Today, lockheed martin is the leading contractor on the f35 lightning ii. The f35b counterrotating lift fan, developed by rollsroyce, can generate more than 20,000lb of thrust. The flight test instrumentation pods have provided a structurally and environmentally protected housing in aluminum for the flight test data acquisition system on the mission systems test aircraft during flight testing of all f35 variants. Pdf lockheed martin and the controversial f35 researchgate. Over the decadeslong effort to meet a real military need for better aircraft, the f35 program is the result of the merging or combination of. Regardless of how much it is flown assum ing equipment and crew are mission capable, there is military value in force structure.
What went wrong with the f35, lockheed martins joint. Government accountability office, f35 aircraft sustainment. The best aircraft for close air support in the twenty. F35 far from ready to face current or future threats. F35b joint strike fighter jsf on 31 july 2015, the us marine corps announced that the f35b lightning ii aircraft had reached initial operational capability with a squadron of 10 f35bs ready. The f35 joint strike fighter jsf is being developed and purchased in different. Gao19321, accessible version, f35 aircraft sustainment. Alp aviation has been supporting the program since 2004 and currently manufactures f35 production airframe structure and. The f35 lightning ii is a major multinational program intended to produce an affordably stealthy multirole strike fighter that will have three variants. The united states air force maintains the largest, most technologiallyadvanced aircraft anywhere in the world. F35 joint strike fighter jsf program congressional research service summary the largest procurement program in the department of defense dod, the f35 lightning ii is a strike fighter aircraft being procured in different versions for the united states air force, marine corps, and navy. National defense authorization act for fiscal year 2020 tkelley on dskbcp9hb2prod with reports verdate sep 11 2014 16.
The jsf requirement was to meet the needs of the air force, navy, marine corps and allies, with improved survivability, precision engagement capability, and reduced life cycle costs. Air force, an aircraftcarrier version cv for the u. Aircraft life monitoring there are 3 philosophical approaches to designing aircraft in order to ensure that they operate safely throughout their operational lives. According to the us department of defense dod, canadian par. As the f35 program approaches fullrate production, dod is working to. The f35 lightning ii also known as the joint strike fighter, produced by lockheed martin, is that versatileuse aircraft. The f4c was the first usaf version and was initially ordered as f110a. Pdf the joint strike fighter f35 program a canadian.
Proponents argued that the overhead structure of a joint office, even if needed. More importantly imo is what the us will do to ensure the uae protects the f35 from others. The singleengine fighter is considered a fifthgeneration aircraft because of its advanced software and stealthy attributes aimed at evading radar in hostile territory. The f35 aircraft features many technological enhancements in air. Committed to the committee of the whole house on the.
In fact, the possible variations of the plane also make it possible to tailor this aircraft for the u. The struggle to align forces with strategy the navy in fy 2020 reflects the priorities of the department as a whole. It is intended to perform both air superiority and strike missions while also providing electronic warfare and intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance capabilities. The air forces organization of its small f22 fleet has not maximized the. Buying f15 exs will allow the air force to retire the oldest legacy aircraft more quickly.
The f35lightning iiprogram will develop and field an affordable, highly common family of nextgeneration strike aircraft for the u. The stealth capabilities in the f35 are unprecedented in military aviation. The f35 lightning ii is a stealthy, supersonic, multirole fighter designed to meet the requirements of the united states and allied defense forces worldwide for an affordable next generation fighter. Jul 3, 2019 building aircraft fuselages may not sound like a big deal, but this video will change your mind. F35a lightning ii airframe completes third life testing. The first flight took place on 27 may 1963 and the aircraft were fitted with 2 j79ge15 engines. This meant that the turner access designers had to rely on pdf outlines and reverse engineer substructure frame drawings to incorporate them into cads software in order to design the structures. These factors determine the requirements to be met by any material used to construct or repair the aircraft. F35 airframe structural testing bae systems international. The joint strike fighter was designated the f35 lightning ii in july 2006. Key fighter aircraft f22a f15e mig29 f4e mig23 f106 mig21 f86.
The wing structures of most naval aircraft are of allmetal construction, usually of the cantilever design. F35 to replace most us combat aircraft by 2020 defencetalk. Published by the american institute of aeronautics and astronautics, inc. Entries are listed below in alphanumeric order 1toz. Fail safe structures have multiple load paths and if one part fails, other components will take over the load eg multiple attachment points for. The singleengine, singleseat f35 will be manufactured in three versions. United states marine corps, deputy commandant for aviation. An integrated airframe design, advanced materials and. The lockheed martin f35 lightning ii is an american family of singleseat, singleengine, allweather stealth multirole combat aircraft.
Led by the us, with participation from the uk, italy, netherlands, australia, canada, denmark, norway and turkey, it is a truly collaborative programme aimed at delivering a stealthy, multirole attack aircraft capable of operating from land and sea to nations across the globe. The joint strike fighter is the next generation fighter to support the us navy, air force, marine corps, united kingdom and defense partners in australia, canada, denmark, italy, the netherlands, norway, and turkey. The f35 is the result of the defense departments joint strike fighter jsf program, which sought to build a multirole fighter optimized for the airtoground role with secondary airtoair capability. Lieutenant general chris bogdan, united states air force, f35. Click on the image to enlarge why gao did this study the f35 aircraft represents the future of tactical aviation for the u. Gbu16 paveway ii 1,000 lb lgb mk 83 warhead aim9x sidewinder. The f35 joint strike fighter includes a host of extra hidden costs buried in defense contracts that render each uk. F35 joint strike fighter jsf program every crs report. The primary factors to consider in aircraft structures are strength, weight, and reliability. I n t e g r i t y s e r v i c e unclassified e x c e l l e n c e 14 summary. F35 air vehicle technology overview lockheed martin. The fifthgeneration stealth fighter was supposed to be a modular design, with modifications adapting it for service in the us air force f35a, the us marine corps f35b and the us navy f35c. An f35b lightning ii assigned to marine fighter attack squadron 21 moves into position to land aboard the waspclass amphibio about a year ago.
Current dod plans call for acquiring a total of 2,456. United states government accountability office highlights of gao19321, a report to congressional requesters april 2019 f35 aircraft sustainment dod needs to address substantial supply chain challenges what gao found f35 aircraft performance is falling short of warfighter requirementsthat. The above video shows an f35b armed with a full set of antiair and antiground weapons takeoff from a ski ramp for the first time ever, ihs janes reported on sunday. F35 lightning ii joint strike fighter jsf airforce.
Instrumentation pods for the f35 to lockheed martin aeronautics company lm, fort worth, texas. Since this work was conducted in the 20152016 time frame, some differences have arisen in the actual execution of the f35 lots 1214 approach relative to the constructs. Joint strike fighter f35 lightning ii 3159 aircraft 15 services 3 us services, 8 partners, 1 security cooperative customer, foreign military sales customer 1 global support solution distribution statement a. The rand f35 block buy study and report was a key component to the successful implementation of the f35 joint program office strategy for production lots 1214. The f35b variant will be a multirole strike fighter aircraft to replace the av8b. More than 20 miles of wiring, 2,500 strain gauges and 160 loading actuators are designed to subject the aircraft to a range of loads that it could typically encounter in actual flight.
Metrics to compare aircraft operating and support costs in. The trial flight took place in early august at naval air station patuxent river in maryland. The f35 family includes the f35a conventional takeoff and landing ctol variant, the f35b short takeoffvertical landing stovl variant, and the f35c carrier variant cv. The f35, built by lockheed martin, was supposed to finish the 16year development phase this year. Lockheed martin f35 lightning ii procurement wikipedia. Pdf design and optimization of a multirole fighter aircraft. This is where the us becomes very finicky with their weapons. There are a total of 52 active usaf aircraft 2020 types in the military factory. Half of f35 fleet grounded by tech problems pentagon. Lockheed martin is the prime f35 contractor, with principal partners northrop grumman.
Due to f35 jsf program security controls, aircraft dimensions, specifications and drawings cannot be released. Lockheed martin f35 lightning ii procurement is the planned selection and purchase of the lockheed martin f35 lightning ii, also known as the joint strike fighter jsf by various countries the f35 lightning ii was conceived from the start of the project as having participation from many countries, most of which would both contribute to the manufacture of. Rather, stealth gives the f35 the ability to elude or greatly complicate an enemys ability to find and destroy an aircraft using a combination of design, tactics and technology. This means that the skin is part of the basic wing structure and carries part of the loads and stresses. A multirole fighter aircraft carrying one pilot that covers a range of 2000 nm with a maximum mach number of 2 has a maximum ceiling of 65000 ft. Lockheed martin is the prime f35 contractor, with principal. Air force, an aircraft carrier version cv for the u. The 350tonne airframe structural test rig at the brough site was built to fly the f35 lightning ii through a series of flight scenarios. F22 organization and utilization changes could improve aircraft availability and pilot training. Gives us first look, first shot, first kill advantage. Pdf the canadian f35 procurement represents the largest peacetime acquisition of new aircraft for canadian forces since the korean. They were built with serials 63740777 and 64654980.
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